Commodity (refuse or recycling) collection trucks come in three main types: front end loading, rear end loading, and side loading. In the case of side loading commodity collection bodies, certain collection bodies are separated into multiple compartments or hoppers into which different kinds of commodity may be loaded.
Collection of refuse commodities including organic and recyclable wastes requires efficient collection from commercial, industrial and manufacturing locations. In these environments numerous bins and containers are often used to accommodate large amounts of waste and recyclable material, and difficulties arise in efficiently emptying all the individual bins and containers into the commodity collection truck. Difficulties also arise in maneuvering bins and containers from certain locations and from elevated docks to locations accessible by commodity collection trucks.
Economic and social changes have occurred in society's handling of waste commodities. The efforts by municipalities to lengthen the lifetime of landfills have led to increasing efforts to divert waste from the landfill. Attitudes have changed about waste commodities which have led to efforts to recycle and reuse various castoffs of industry and households alike. Yard wastes are being diverted to composting operations. Food scraps and other wastes from food preparation operations are being diverted to conversion to fuels such as diesel fuel. Aluminum and steel are recovered for conversion into new products. Paper products are diverted to reformulation as post-waste paper goods. Thermally formed plastics are ground and reused for products. Plus, the need for segregation of biologic hazards and medical waste has fueled the need for refuse collection bodies which can haul multiple types of waste commodities in segregated containers. In many hospital environments, biologic waste is collected from low height hospital loading docks frequently built for unloading of panel trucks and such loading docks are often covered. The increases in biologic and medical waste have made it impractical for such commodities to be efficiently removed by small general purpose utility vehicles.
The increased efforts to recycle and reuse components of the varied waste streams has created new challenges especially when dealing with dense urban environments, which include narrow streets and alleys, low overhanging utility lines, and tight access to loading docks. Obviously, society prefers that waste commodities exit a business at the rear, and rear exits are usually located along a narrow alleyway and frequently include a loading dock that was built long ago with no expectation that it might be used in the Twenty-first century. It is not uncommon for loading docks to include covers or awnings to shelter the dock structure. Overhead obstructions and narrow passageways make it impossible for a conventional refuse and recycling collection trucks to automatically load from the rear of an older building, from a covered loading dock or from an area where there are low hanging utility cables or other overhead obstructions.
Standard practice anticipates that refuse and recycling collection trucks are loaded without regard for overhead limitations, that is, with no obstruction overhead. Therefore the only height restriction applied to existing refuse collection trucks has been that imposed by highway usage, that is, overpass clearances and bridge superstructure heights.
Therefore, in urban environments, handling of waste and recycling collection necessitates the manual relocation of waste and recycling receptacles from a rear loading area to an open street where a full-size waste collection truck may pass without overhead obstacles such as low hanging utility lines and low dock overhangs. Automated collection of varied waste commodities is impossible due to the impossibility of maneuvering a conventional waste collection truck in such areas.
A mechanism that permits automated unloading of bins and containers into a refuse and recycling collection vehicle from a dock or other location above ground level is needed for refuse collection activities in commercial, industrial and manufacturing environments.
An apparatus which allows commodity containers to be retrieved from a location posterior to the collection vehicle, either from ground level or from a raised platform, would reduce the amount of labor needed and increase the safety in the collection of commodity from such containers.